


Y is for Yardwork

by Zeplerfer



Series: Alphabet Smut [20]
Category: Hetalia: Axis Powers
Genre: Awkward dorks flirting badly, Dry Humping, M/M, Or young lust at least, Yanking off, Young Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-15
Updated: 2018-07-15
Packaged: 2019-06-10 22:37:23
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,096
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15301560
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Zeplerfer/pseuds/Zeplerfer
Summary: Mowing the lawn is a chore, but fantasizing about the boy next door is a pleasure.





	Y is for Yardwork

It was too hot to concentrate, Arthur thought as he fanned himself with his notepad. The overhead fan spun at its highest speed, rustling the papers on his desk. The windows in his bedroom gave him plenty of light and a wonderful view of the backyard, but they also let in far too much heat in the middle of the summer. Arthur would have gone somewhere cooler, but it was Saturday morning and there was something he wanted to watch.

An engine revved outside. After two false starts, the lawnmower roared to life and a shirtless teenager walked into view. His golden hair gleamed in the sunlight and his arm muscles flexed as he pushed the lawnmower across his yard.

Arthur smiled wistfully to himself and continued fanning himself as he admired the view.

Alfred was the all-American boy next door, and his summer chores involved maintaining the perfect suburban lawn. His family’s yard was a lush carpet of grass, bordered with a charming white picket fence. It was ideal for hosting barbecues (which they did often), and Alfred worked hard to keep it that way. Arthur thought that Americans were too obsessed with their lawns, but he couldn’t bring himself to be annoyed that his next-door neighbor was outside every Saturday morning, shirtless and covered in a light sheen of sweat.  

The sound of the lawnmower quieted to a low rumble while Alfred paused and emptied the grass clippings into the nearest bin. He wiped his forehead, leaving a few blades of grass sticking to his temple. Arthur inhaled deeply and imagined the scent of sweat, grass, and sunshine. He fanned himself harder and wondered how it would feel to caress Alfred’s tanned, gleaming pecs with his fingers and his lips. Alfred’s biceps barely strained as he pushed the heavy lawnmower across the grass. His broad shoulders tapered to a lean waist and a pair of well-worn jeans hugged his legs and showcased a firm butt.

Arthur’s own pants soon felt much tighter as he continued to ogle the other teenager. After quickly checking to make sure that his bedroom door was locked, he unzipped his trousers and palmed his growing erection. He covered his hand in Vaseline and moaned happily as he stroked his cock while envisioning Alfred sweaty and shirtless in bed.

Arthur smothered a moan and jerked himself to climax. Intense pleasure flooded his body, leaving him relaxed and sated as he came in the palm of his hand. He wiped his hand clean with a tissue and tossed it into the nearby bin.

For several minutes, Arthur just lounged in his chair and watched his handsome neighbor through half-lidded eyes. He yearned for more than this unrequited lust, but his previous efforts to ascertain Alfred’s sexuality had been less than successful. He was pretty sure Alfred liked other guys, but Alfred didn’t seem to like him very much. Arthur sighed and pushed back his chair and slipped quietly into the bathroom to clean up before his parents woke up.

Arthur washed his face with cold water to cool his red cheeks. His fair skin and freckled cheeks showed his blushes too easily, but at least everyone here fawned over his ‘cute’ English accent. 

Such a pity he and Alfred had started off on the wrong foot. Arthur had made some… less than polite comments about the stupidities of American foreign policy during the Jones’s Fourth of July Barbecue and Alfred had taken umbrage.

Although he had no intent to apologize, Arthur decided a peace offering might be in order. He headed to the kitchen and expertly brewed a small amount of tea, then added sugar and plenty of ice. When the sweet tea was ready, he stepped outside. The heat and humidity promptly smothered him like a thick, muggy blanket. At least Arthur could pretend his flushed cheeks were because of the heat.

Arthur made it halfway across the yard before Alfred even noticed him—giving him additional time to admire Alfred’s muscular back and firm butt up close. When Alfred finally glanced Arthur’s way, he pulled to a stop and turned down the lawnmower to a low rumble.

“Let me guess, I’m being too loud,” Alfred drawled.

“No, I just thought… perhaps you’d like something to drink…” Arthur lifted up the glass of iced tea by way of explanation.

Alfred gave the drink a confused, suspicious look. “You’re not trying to poison me, are you?”

“Of course not!” Arthur sputtered indignantly. “Why would you say that?”

“I dunno. I heard about your cooking.” Alfred leaned against the handle of his lawnmower and grinned teasingly.

“Well if you’re going to be rude, I’ll just drink it myself.” Arthur took a sip of the too-sweet beverage and made a face. “Ugh.”

Alfred smirked. “Hah! I _knew_ there was something wrong with it.”

Arthur scrunched his nose in distaste. “Too much sugar. I was trying to make sweet tea, but I think I went overboard.”

“Come on, there’s no such thing as too much sugar,” Alfred confidently replied. “Here, let me try.” To Arthur’s surprise, he took the glass and sipped it cautiously. Then he licked his lips appreciatively and gulped down the cold, sweet liquid.

Arthur stared at Alfred’s mouth, entranced by his wet lips and the way his Adam’s apple bobbed enticingly. It suddenly felt much warmer.

“Hmm, not bad,” Alfred admitted when he finished the sweet tea. “Coulda used more sugar.”

“You don’t need more sugar,” Arthur retorted, even though Alfred’s body was much better than he would have expected, given the teenager’s fast food heavy diet.

Alfred frowned. “Yeah, well, better sugary than bitter.”

“I didn’t mean…” Arthur replied, but Alfred drowned him out by restarting the lawnmower. He returned to cutting grass while Arthur sighed in disappointment. So much for trying to win him over with a nice, neighborly gesture.

* * *

Arthur’s family didn’t share the American obsession with perfectly cut lawns, but his mother did love her roses. She had planted them as soon as they moved in and she was determined to see her babies thrive in their new environment. Arthur was in charge of watering them and clearing out the weeds; he normally waited until evening to protect his fair skin.

With ample watering, the roses were flourishing in the southern sunshine. They had put on a spectacular show in May and June and several continued to bloom throughout the summer. Arthur bent down and inhaled the sweet fragrance of a pink rosebud.

“Hey,” a voice said behind him, startling Arthur into dropping his garden shears.

Arthur whirled around and glared at the intruder, trying to make out his face in the dusky hue of twilight. He eased back when he realized it was Alfred approaching with a spray bottle of some kind. “Oh, hello.”

“Y’know, I got some extra weed killer if you wanna get rid of those dandelions.”

Arthur shuddered at the thought. “No, thank you. I’m not putting that poison within a hundred meters of my roses.”

“You think I’m trying to poison your roses?” Alfred demanded with a huff.

Arthur crossed his arms. His mind screamed at him to abort, but his stubbornness made him retort, “You accused _me_ of trying to poison you.”

“I was just joking,” Alfred said defensively, his cheeks darker than normal.

Arthur bent down and picked up his shears to buy himself time to reply. “Well, it was in poor taste,” he replied. “Besides, I don’t want to kill the dandelions. They’re lovely in the autumn when the seeds float through the air.”

Alfred glanced down at the dandelions filling the Kirkland yard and crossed his arms. “This is your long-term plot to fill my yard with weeds, isn’t it?”

“Of course not,” Arthur rolled his eyes. “I don’t care about your lawn.”

“Pfft. Yeah, right. I can see you plotting from your window, y’know.”

Arthur’s expression froze as he realized that Alfred wasn’t quite as oblivious to Arthur’s attentions as he had seemed. “I’m not interested in the yard,” Arthur carefully replied.

“You’re just jealous ‘cause it’s way better than yours.”

Arthur rolled his eyes. “I can only assume that by better you mean _boring_. If we wanted a bland lawn like yours, we’d install astroturf.”

“Hey!” Alfred pulled back in affront. “Our grass is _way_ nicer than astroturf!” he protested before stalking back to his house, muttering the entire time.

Arthur gently smacked himself in the forehead. He had meant to flirt with his neighbor, not insult him! But it just seemed so much easier to trade insults than to leave himself vulnerable by being honest about his growing attraction.

He looked at the roses and sighed. If only people were as simple as plants.

* * *

As July turned into August, the heat grew even worse. If Arthur had known what 38 degrees Celsius actually felt like he would have seriously considered staying in the UK with his brothers even though they were complete arseholes.

When Arthur watered the roses in the evening, he began to notice bugs in the yard, flashing like beacons in the dark. He wandered out into the middle of the lawn and gaped as insects flew all around him, creating blinking lights that reminded him of a galaxy of tiny stars. Arthur reached out and caught one in his cupped hands. He watched it glow and then set it free. After catching and releasing a few more, he heard steps approaching him from the side. Arthur turned and watched Alfred approach with a grin and a glass jar.

“You’re supposed to put it in a jar,” Alfred explained as he opened the jar and showed off the lid punched with air holes.

“What are they? Glow worms?” Arthur asked.

“Lightning bugs. Some people call ‘em fireflies.” Alfred caught several in one go and skillfully put them in the jar without any escaping. He quickly lifted the lid as Arthur added a few more. Soon he had a little lantern of lightning bugs. “Pretty cool, aren’t they?” Alfred said as he handed the jar to Arthur.

Arthur lifted the jar up to his eyes and watched the bugs in amazement. “They’re beautiful.”

“One more thing we have that you don’t,” Alfred replied smugly.

“That and the heat,” Arthur retorted mildly, too entranced by the fireflies’ beauty to deliver a stinging insult to burst the bubble of Alfred’s constant patriotism.

Alfred laughed and plopped down cross-legged onto the soft, green grass. He plucked a few blades of grass absentmindedly and scattered them on the yard. Arthur sat down next to him and placed the flickering jar between them. It cast a soft, romantic light. Alfred smiled at him with a softer expression than usual and Arthur smiled hesitantly back.

“I wonder why they do it,” Arthur mused as he watched the bugs slowly dance across the air.

“They’re flirting,” Alfred explained with a grin. “The guys light up their butts to say, ‘ _Hey_ , ladies,’ and the girls flash back if they’re interested.”

Arthur gaped. “You’re joking.”

“Nope! I read it online.”

“Huh.” Arthur glanced around at all the twinkling lights with a somewhat less magical feeling than just a few moments earlier. “I can’t believe I’m watching insect Tinder.”

Alfred laughed and shook his head. “Yeah, well, maybe they have the right idea. It’d be way easier if we could just light up our butts to attract somebody.”

“I can’t imagine _you_ have any problems,” Arthur said. He immediately flushed. He hoped his blush wasn’t too obvious in the dim evening light.

Alfred gave him a side-long glance. “You’d be surprised.”

“Oh?” Hope welled in Arthur’s chest, even as he wondered if he was reading too much into his crush’s ambiguous statements.

“Yeah, sometimes I think someone is interested, but then I’m not really sure,” Alfred admitted. “I guess I need something more obvious.”

Light flooded the yard as the back door to the Jones house opened. “Alfred, you still need to empty the dishwasher!” his father called.

Alfred sighed and got up to leave. “Well, see you ‘round.”

Arthur nodded and waved goodbye. He opened the jar and set the fireflies free. As he watched them dance in the night sky, he smiled to himself.  

* * *

Early on Saturday morning, Arthur went outside in a t-shirt and khaki shorts and grabbed his watering hose. He sprayed the roses with plenty of water as the sound of Alfred’s lawnmower filled the air. He glanced in Alfred’s direction and waved. Alfred nodded and continued mowing his lawn, but his lines seemed more erratic than usual as he kept glancing in Arthur’s direction.

Arthur took his time leisurely watering the rest of the rose bushes and smiled to himself as he noticed that Alfred also seemed to be taking longer than usual. He leaned over to pull a few weeds and made sure his butt was pointed squarely in Alfred’s direction. This would certainly be obvious enough.

When Alfred emptied the final bin of grass clippings and turned off the mower, Arthur waved him over. Alfred was sweaty and shirtless and he looked as marvelous as always. A few blades of grass clung to his muscular arms. He brushed them off as he approached.

“Here, let me help you clean up,” Arthur offered with a smirk. That was the only warning he gave before he sprayed Alfred’s chest and arms with water.

“Hey!” Alfred yelped in surprise. He suddenly grinned and raced forward. With his longer legs, he overtook Arthur and tussled for control of the hose. They laughed in the spray of water flying all around. Before Arthur knew it, his t-shirt and shorts were drenched. He fought back half-heartedly, distracted by the way Alfred’s abs glistened in the morning light. While trying to reclaim the hose, Arthur slipped in the mud and tumbled forward into the other teen, knocking him off his feet. Alfred landed on his butt, with Arthur on top.

For a second, they both caught their breath. Arthur’s fingers were splayed across Alfred’s bare chest; beneath them, he felt Alfred’s heart pounding. Something firm was pressing against Arthur’s thigh and it wasn’t the water hose.

Arthur lifted his head and gazed into blue eyes partially obscured by water-speckled glasses. From the look of pleasant surprise on Alfred’s face, he could see that Alfred had made the same realization. Arthur’s skin tingled with desire. His cheeks flushed beneath the beating sun and his nostrils filled with the sharp scent of freshly cut grass. Dimly, he wondered if any of their other neighbors were watching.

“Want to come inside to get cleaned up?” Arthur offered, voice low and husky. “My parents are gone this weekend.”

Alfred’s Adam’s apple bobbed. “Yeah,” he quickly agreed. They climbed to their feet and stumbled toward Arthur’s house. They entered the back door and stepped into the sunroom. The wicker furniture was padded with bright, floral patterns and a fan whirred overhead.

The two teenagers stared at each other hesitantly, unsure who would make the first move.

“So, uh, what now?” Alfred asked awkwardly.

“Well, we should get out of these wet clothes first,” Arthur suggested. “And then I’ll do something about that,” he added, pointing to Alfred’s obvious erection.

“Oh, good.” Alfred grinned in relief. “I was kinda worried you were just gonna give me a towel or something.”

Arthur rolled his eyes. “Honestly, Alfred. I’m not sure how I could be more blatant. What did you think I was up to when I brought you that glass of sweet tea?”

“Maybe you just thought I was hot.”

“I _do_ think you’re hot.”

Alfred’s smile widened. “Yeah? Well, you’re really hot too.” He stepped closer to Arthur until they were nearly chest to chest. Arthur glanced up and his throat went dry at Alfred’s intense gaze. After months of longing, they were really doing this. Arthur licked his lips and leaned in for a kiss. The first one was chaste and sweet, just a brush of the lips that still made his insides feel like butterflies in flight.

The next was hungrier and sloppier, until Arthur tilted his head to the side and found a better angle. Everything looked so much easier in porn, but porn had never made the coil at the base of his stomach tighten the way Alfred’s damp chest pressed against his did. Arthur panted, a little light-headed as an intense cacophony of sensations coursed through his body.

“You ever done this before?” Alfred asked, voice breathless and a little nervous.

Arthur shook his head. “Not all the way.”

“So… clothes next?” Alfred asked. Arthur nodded and smirked. It became a game of seeing who could strip off the most clothes without losing an inch of skin-on-skin contact. Between kisses, Arthur managed to unzip Alfred’s jeans. Alfred tugged off Arthur’s sodden t-shirt and tossed it into the corner of the room. They kicked off their shoes to avoid tracking mud onto the tile floor. Soon, the only clothes left on their bodies was Alfred’s boxers and Arthur’s briefs.

They tumbled into a wicker loveseat. Alfred’s back pressed against the seat cushions. He was too long for the seat and his legs stretched over the arm rest. Arthur sat straddling Alfred’s hips. He leaned against Alfred’s chest and gently kissed him on the lips. He savored the taste of Alfred’s mouth and Alfred responded by wrapping his arms around Arthur’s waist and pulling him closer. While Arthur focused on kissing the living daylights out of his neighbor, Alfred’s hands drifted south. He cupped his hands on Arthur’s butt and gently squeezed. Arthur moaned softly and his eyelashes fluttered shut.

Waves of intense pleasure flooded Arthur’s body, his only warning before he came inside his own briefs. Arthur flopped onto Alfred’s chest, embarrassed by how little it took to send him over the edge, but too spent to do anything other than lie in a pleasant, satiated heap.

Alfred kept groping Arthur’s butt and rutting against him. He soon grunted, breathing out slowly with an open mouth, and lay still. Arthur tilted his head to the side to look at Alfred’s face. Half-lidded eyes behind smudged glasses, flushed cheeks, and a dopey grin made it obvious that Alfred had enjoyed himself just as much as Arthur had.

They lay together in silence for several minutes.

“That was… that was really something,” Alfred drawled with a lazy smile.

“I think we may have missed a few steps,” Arthur admitted in chagrin. “Perhaps we should try again next week?”

Alfred blinked and his smile widened. “Fuck yeah.”

**Author's Note:**

> It's summer, so that means it's time for a smutty fic about the cute boy next door mowing the lawn shirtless. And yes, fireflies blinking at each other is all about sex, so of course that had to be part of the fic too :D


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